When Augusto Lima, Zalgiris Kaunas star center, didn’t play during his team’s semifinals match due to the birth of his daughter, the head coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius schooled a reporter on why it was important for him to not attend the game.
Here’s the transcript of the exchange:
Reporter: Coach, what do you think about Augusto Lima going away in the midst of a series to attend the birth of his child?
Jasikevicius: What do I think about it? I allowed him to go.
Reporter: But is it normal for a player to leave the team during the semifinals?
Jasikevicius: Do you have kids? When you have kids, youngster, you’ll understand. Because that’s the height of human experience. Wow, that’s a good question really. Do you think basketball is the most important thing in life?
Reporter: No, but a semifinal is important…
Jasikevicius: To whom is it important?
Reporter: The team.
Jasikevicius: Which one?
Reporter: Zalgiris.
Jasikevicius: Did you see the number of fans at the game? Important? When you see your first child, you will understand what the most important thing in life is. Because nothing can be more majestic in the world than the birth of a child. Not titles, not anything else. Augusto Lima is now in heaven, emotionally. I’m really happy for him.
